The Multibank charity is delighted to welcome Former First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, Centrica CEO, Chris O’Shea, and experienced Finance Director, Stuart Roberts, onto our Board.
Jill Whitehouse, accomplished corporate lawyer and business leader, and current trustee of The Multibank, is also stepping into the role of Chair of the Board of Trustees. Jill replaces Eric Salama, who has played a pivotal role in the launch and scaling of our new charity across Britain.
Anti-poverty campaigner and former UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, continues to serve as President of The Multibank.
Working in collaboration with locally trusted and highly regarded charity leads in Scotland, England and Wales, and businesses committed to their CSR responsibilities, The Multibank has innovated a model that takes surplus household products from business and redistributes them quickly and free at the point of delivery to adults and children, to offer relief in moments of crisis and help prevent material poverty.
In the last four years, our six regional Multibanks have redistributed more than 20 million products to more than 2 million families across Britain.
The Multibank’s ambition now is to increase the reach of our support, getting more goods recovered from surplus stocks and in-kind donations to more families and people in need across Britain – making life better by reducing material poverty.
The new appointments to The Multibank’s Board bring significant experience across public service, business and finance to help us support more people to get back or stay on their feet.
Said former PM Gordon Brown,
“I’m extremely grateful to Mark, Chris and Stuart for joining Team Multibank and I’m looking forward to working with them. Their knowledge, their commitment, and their kindness in sharing it with us, will, I know, really raise our ability to find more spare business products and CSR capacity to bring fresh supplies to families and family support units across Britain who need a bit of material support.
“I’d like to thank Eric Salama too for being our founding Multibank Chair and putting in the many hours of time it takes to develop a new charity in its early years. He has created the strong governance foundations we need to thrive. We wouldn’t be here without him. Thank you, Eric, and welcome to the Chair, Jill.”
Said The Multibank Chair, Jill Whitehouse,
“With more than one in five people in the UK now living in poverty, and families increasingly forced to make impossible choices about basic necessities, the need for The Multibank model is only growing.
“Eric is a hard act to follow. But I’m very happy that he remains on hand and fully supportive. He has made an enormous contribution to The Multibank, and I’m looking forward to building on that work as we enter our next phase.
“More than 20 million items distributed is only the beginning. The social need is huge, and The Multibank is strengthening the organisation around the model so it can support more people, in more communities, across Britain.”
Said Eric Salama,
“It’s been such a pleasure to help The Multibank scale and thrive, and to work with such a wonderful team and partners. I will always be there to support the team as it continues to grow and achieve even greater impact going forward.”
The Multibank was established in Fife, Scotland, in 2022 to help combat the impact of poverty, particularly on the lives of children and families. Its model is simple: businesses have surplus goods that people need, while local charities know the people and communities who need them. The Multibank connects the two, bringing together clothes, bedding, baby, hygiene and toys banks in one place.
Through its network of local community partners, The Multibank gets essential goods to people who need them in their communities – reducing the effects of poverty, helping children access opportunities and supporting a more sustainable economy.
The Multibank is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, dual registered in Scotland and in England and Wales. This structure reflects the national scope of its operations and provides greater clarity around its governance and identity.
